Spectre Thrill
by AridDreams
Summary: Nobody expected a boy to come falling out of a portal in the sky, and nobody expected said boy to carry a powerful secret. How does Danny spend his first few days in the Grand Line? *Woot! New chappie!* WIP
1. Ordinary day?

**The scene begins in a blank white room. In the centre of the room, we see a teenager - female, about fourteen, tall and gangly, an average face and feminine apparel. She wars a white V-neck shirt with a black, zip up turtleneck vest, knee length olive cargo shorts, and mid-calf black leather boots. She has short brown hair, a bird-claw necklace, and a tiny baby blue ringlet earring on her right ear. Her left eye is blue while the right is green. Arid looks a bit iffy about something.**

**"Believe me when I say that plot bunnies are -"**

**Her eyes widen suddenly, and she lifts an arm to discover a plot bunny hanging on with it's teeth. An eye twitches erratically.**

***A few seconds later***

**A cat screeches at random as something was thrown through a random door. We see Arid return, now mildly calmer with the absence of the plot bunny.**

**"Stinking son of a" - she notices the readers - "oh. Sorry 'bout that. I believe I now understand the insanity that is the plot bunny, and I'm pretty sure many of you will agree with me on that notion. Anyways, before I became a writer on Fanfiction, I was more then surprised to find that there were no crossovers between Danny Phantom and One Piece."**

***She sighs exasperatedly, but then perks up.***

**"Some time prior, however, I noticed that another author was kind enough to post a challenge concerning these two shows. Although it was taken down about a month later, since I suspect no one was up for that challenge, but that one challenge alone left a seed in my mind, which slowly became the plot bunny you heard me dispose of earlier. Don't worry, it'll be back, and it sure as heck will keep whipping me to finish writing."**

**A whistle is heard, and Arid turns to see the plot bunny with a whip in its paw. She sighs in defeat before materializing double scimitars in her hands. She suddenly remembers something very important, and glances at the readers out of the corner of her eye.**

**"Even if I get one review, I'm happy. Rights for Danny Phantom belong to Butch Hartman, and rights for One Piece belong to Eiichira Oda. Also, this begins immediately after the Water 7 arc, and WAY before Phantom Planet."**

**Arid turns just in time to block the whip's sudden lash.**

**"Enjoy!"**

It was one of those days that you could say were 'ordinary' for the denizens of the Straw Hat Pirates. Their recent adventure's end not only gave a new crewmate, but a successor to their last ship, Going Merry. These two were known as Franky, the now resident ship-rite, and the Thousand Sunny, a beautiful ship Franky had made with his own hands (with some help from his former colleagues). Alas, I can't get into too much detail, but I can say that this adventure starts about a couple of days before the Straw Hats encountered a mysterious fog...

The day was like any other; Ussop was by the main mast and telling one of his many tall tales, with Chopper listening in rapt fascination, while Franky tended to the inner workings of Sunny, to make sure she was in top condition. Nami and Robin each were laying on a lawn chair, reading a newspaper and an inanely large tome respectively, while Zoro and Sanji were in the middle of another argument, mostly started by Zoro for obvious reasons. And Luffy? He was seated on the lion figurehead, watching the sea stretch out before him. But at the present time, something seemed...off.

It couldn't be Sunny, no; she's nearly a day old. Was his nakama okay? He stretched his neck a tad and glanced around briefly - Franky was most likely somewhere below deck, but otherwise everyone seemed fine. His neck snapped back as he turned his eyes toward the skies. Maybe the clouds are hiding something, the boy thought inwardly, but if it was weather, Nami would know. He couldn't hear any sudden calls. Fluffy white wisps of clouds rolled by carelessly, as every now and then a small blue dot, obviously darker then the bright blue of the sky, would be briefly hidden before reappearing again.

It stayed in one place.

Luffy blinked a few times, taking a full ten seconds to realize that something was happening. He casually stood up and leapt back down to the grassy deck. Ussop and Chopper paused their fun, watching their captain/friend head towards the only girls of the crew. Robin looked up from her book upon hearing Luffy's footfalls.

"Is there anything you need, Luffy-san?"

He seemed to consider his next words. "Do you know anything about mystery-dots appearing randomly in the sky?"

She raised a brow at his question. Zoro and Sanji stopped their brawl, Nami tore her eyes away from the newspaper, and Ussop and Chopper decided to come closer.

"I was watching the clouds" - Luffy pointed to where he had looked - "when I saw it. It stayed in the same spot the whole time."

Nami sighed and put down the newspaper, getting off her chair.

Franky had just finished some maintenance when he heard the sound of a fist hitting something.

"Oowww~! Nami, why'd you do that?"

He sighed, that boy was LOUD. But never less the older man thought it was a good idea to come up.

Luffy rubbed the impact spot on his sore face from Nami's punch. She had just opened her mouth to retort when something caught her eye. Franky had just come out to see everyone else watching the sky, and in turn, found something dark blue against the usual light pallor; faint screaming coming from it. Luffy, being his curious self, took the opportunity to get closer, despite the warnings following him. He now stood back on the figurehead; is the mystery-dot angry, he thought. A limp shape fell out before the dot faded all together. His eyes widened. And the rest of his crew (mostly) knew from past experience that he was going to try and catch...whatever it was.

At least four people ran up to try and do something – Luffy had already stretched his arms out and realized that what he caught was a person. And just before the person touch the ocean. Certain people knew that he'd caught a person, and a certain reindeer helped Luffy carry the unknown person to the medical bay. After initially spazzing out with his usual cries of 'needing a doctor', with Ussop reminding him he WAS a doctor. The boy, the three had found out, had passed out from whatever ordeal he went through. The young teen had been laid down gently onto a bed.

He looked about fifteen, with shaggy, onyx black hair mostly covering his eyes. He wore a simple white t-shirt with red accents and the same colored oval on the chest, blue jeans and red converse. In all, he didn't look out of the ordinary, but then again, looks could be quite deceiving. Every member of the Straw Hats proved – no, DEFINED that notion through their own specialties.

Chopper, after doing a quick examination for injuries, turned to Luffy and Ussop. "It's best if we leave him here to rest for the time being."

Both boys nodded, and all three turned to head out the door, unaware their strange visitor had stirred slightly, before falling still again.

Danny Fenton opened his eyes for the first time in... he didn't know how long. But the first thought he had when he saw a wood-paneled ceiling was, this isn't the Ghost Zone. He jackknifed into a sitting position on the apparent bed he was on. He smelled chemicals and saltwater; to his right was a desk with an office chair of sorts, a few shelves above it. Both respectively held various papers and medicines. He shifted and put his feet, which thankfully still had his shoes on, on the wooden floor and felt a slight rocking.

Ah, I'm on a boat.

He frowned lightly, trying to make sense of his current situation, when the door to his left – how did he not notice that? – opened suddenly. Before him in general was what appeared to be a small, anthropomorphic deer of some kind, wearing dark magenta shorts and a pink top hat with a white sideways cross on the front. Its left side of antlers had some kind of metal casing on it, (had it broken off somehow?), a small blue nose, and dark brown eyes. Said eyes were staring in surprise at the sight of him.

_What did I get into this time?_

**Arid is seen hiding in the branches of a random tree, in a random forest, having swapped her scimitars for kunai, throwing stars, and other miscellaneous items stored in a bottomless brown pouch hanging off her left belt loop. Mismatched eyes watch a certain bunny prowl in search of her below on the ground.**

**She whispers to the readers. "Yeah, this chapter may have been short, but I promise that the story will get better."**

**Arid watches the plot bunny stalk closer to her tree, when she carefully pulls out a special object and chucks it at the bunny before jumping to the forest floor running. The item was a water balloon filled with orange paint. The plot bunny's enraged cries could be heard throughout the random forest, as well as Arid's victorious laughter.**

**She stops at a cliff side and turns back to you readers. "Two things to clear up. One, Danny's home and Luffy's home are two separate dimensions, and there's a 'tongue transfer' between the both. Two:" – Arid hears the bunny getting closer, and grins mischievously – "don't you worry, I made sure to deploy cameras shaped like various plants and other wildlife; I'm gonna have me a picture of an orange bunny."**

**At this, she runs and jumps off the cliff, laughing at the prospect of seeing the bunny's surprised/angry look. She's free falling toward a small river getting closer to her every second - she straightens out, and just three seconds before she hits the water's surface, and tunnel opens up, and Arid dives inside.**

**The cover closes behind her as Arid rides down a twisting and weaving water slide of sorts, one of the many entranceways to one of her many homes.**

**"See you next chapter!" her cry is heard. On the top of the cliff side, the now orange plot bunny is looking pretty upset, but then smirks, knowing it'll find Arid soon.**


	2. What's going on?

***Sorry! This is my first story involving chapters, so I'm still a bit confused!***

**We see a First Nations' style home underground. Straw mats with varying designs dot the floors while shelves with handmade items - bowls, paddles and whatnot with Salish decorations - littered the walls. Tools are nearby. In the middle of the hearth is a dugout fire pit with a small fire lit producing heat and light. In one corner, is another, larger straw mat with a blanket and pillow on top. In another corner is the opposite of all the serenity of the past - a small desk with a swivel chair, the desk perch to a laptop and monitor, speakers, and a fifty-inch plasma screen hanging on the eastern wall. Arid is sitting at the computer and scrolling through recent footage.**

**Upon realizing she's being watched, Arid turns to face the audience. "Hi again. As you can see" - she gestures to the room around her - "we're inside one of my many homes throughout the world. We're actually close to a past camp of the Coast Nations." She briefly turns back to the computer and messes with something. It's a picture of the plot bunny getting bombed by the paint balloon in the last chapter, and she's adding a caption saying: NARUTO USAGI.**

**Arid snickers before turning back to the readers. "A little birdie told me that (s)he - (names can be deceiving) - thought I was making a reference to Naruto because of the orange paint, kunai, and shuriken. To be quite honest, I wasn't even trying to refer to anything. Eh-"**

***Shrugs***

**"- might as well comply. Anyways, shiz is gonna get real in this chapter when Danny meets the whole Straw Hat crew. Heh, if DP and OP were real life instead of from someone's imagination, meeting reactions would be interesting. Oh well..."**

***Sighs***

**"On with the story!"**

***Disclaimer on the first chapter***

* * *

Periodically Chopper did a quick check to see if the newcomer had woken up yet, and if he had injuries of any kind. Yet Chopper was periodically...wary. Why, he didn't know. It was as if there was a strange presence within the boy, but he couldn't quite place what it was exactly. The feeling had intensified when he saw sky blue eyes staring at him, almost like it was stronger when awake.

The two stared, both thinking, what the hell is this. And for obvious reasons.

The boy shifted slightly. Both waited for the other to speak. Chopper's mouth had just started to open when,

"Chopper~! What are you doing over there still?"

* * *

The call of a boisterous sounding boy snapped both out of their trances, in particular for Danny, the fact that another person spoke in Japanese, and he _understood_. Seconds later two people appeared in the doorway of the assumed medical bay. One was male, looking about eighteen, with olive skin and dark eyes. He wore a bandana with a pair of goggles over long, curly black hair, and dark green overalls with a satchel on the left hip, and brown work boots. The most prominent feature about him was his nose, which made Danny think of a beak.

Long-nose was fighting with another male for position of first through the door. This other boy looked about seventeen with short, unruly black hair, large brown eyes, and overall almost looked like a kid. He wore a simple orange button-up vest, red knee-length shorts with white cuffs, and sandals. What seemed to be the most prominent factors were the scar under his left eye, and the worn straw hat with a red band around the brim.

"...Is there something you want?" Danny hesitantly asked the two squabbling boys, more so now because he realized he could now suddenly speak Japanese himself. The twosome paused and eyed him in surprise, when Straw Hat's face spawned the biggest grin he ever saw and shoved his way past Long-nose . Said boy had been trying to force the other away before he suddenly fell to the wood floor in startled surprise. Pink-hat had wisely stepped out of the way when he sensed Straw Hat's eagerness.

"Hey~! He's awake!"

Danny winced and mentally cursed his sharpened hearing. Why did his ghost powers have to have such an influence on his human form?

"Luffy, why don't you spread the word to the rest of the crew instead of assaulting his hearing? Although, the crew might already know by now, but it's still good to otherwise make sure. And don't forget, he may need some space until he adjusts!"

Danny blinked at the high, squeaky tone of P-Chopper's voice. Space until he adjusts? And what did he mean by 'crew'? The look of realization hit Straw - no, Luffy's face, and he proceeded to bolt out the door. Not before dragging Long-nose out with him by his own nose. Danny blinked; were these people really that crazy?

"It's best if you come out onto deck now - Luffy is especially eager when meeting a new person."

Danny nodded slowly and carefully stepped out of bed, taking the time to stretch, with Chopper waiting patiently, took one look out the open door, and was greeted with the sight of grass. On the deck of the ship. Why is there _grass_ on the deck of the ship? He fully exited the bay, Chopper at his side. Out of the corners of his eyes he could see ornately carved railings leading to the bow. The main mast partially blocked what he assumed to be the figurehead, but then again, all he see of this at the present time was a sliver of the top of the 'head', and what looked to be the tips of sun rays and crossed bones.

_...Crossed bones..._

Wait - crossed bones usually meant along the lines of pirates. Was he on a pirate ship? Danny looked up to the sail and spied a grinning Jolly Roger wearing the same hat Straw Hat wore, and, yep, crossed bones behind it. The same design was on the flag a little ways up. Danny internally sighed and turned to his apparent companion with a look.

"Is it possible for one's life to get more screwed up then it already is?"

Chopper didn't seem to hear him, and his gaze was focused on something else. Apparently, two other teens were in the midst of an argument; one blond, and the other with - surprisingly - moss green hair. ...Shouldn't be too bad, Danny thought. Until he saw flying swords and kicks.

_Holy shit, they're equally matched...!_

Well, that was the only thought that went through Danny's head at that present moment, and no sooner had he realized what each individual was fighting with, a red-haired woman interrupted the fight. Whereas, connecting her fists with their heads.

Danny swallowed tensely. Were these people really that strong?

"Hi there!"

Needless to say, Danny was spooked, by the fact that Luffy _practically teleported _into his line of vision. His hand was trying to dig itself into his chest and get a full grip on his heart as he tried to calm his breathing.

"...Don't *gasp* do that!"

"Sorry!"

Danny quirked an eyebrow at the happy-go-lucky attitude this boy had, while said boy just laughed heartily.

"...Anyways, what am I doing here? I don't exactly recall coming aboard your ship."

It was by sheer force of will that Danny managed to keep a straight face after seeing Luffy's 'I'm serious' look.

"Nee~ there was a mystery dot in the sky earlier..."

"What Luffy means to say is that you fell out of...something earlier and nearly hit the ocean -"

(Danny had nearly forgotten that Chopper was with him still.)

"- And by the sound of it, you were in pain, and had all but fainted. This was three hours ago." The red haired woman from earlier finished up, having decided to join the talk. "I'm Nami, the navigator of this crew, and the reindeer is Chopper, the doctor -"

_Huh, I thought he bore resemblance to them. Wait, I was asleep for three hours?!_

"- and already you've met our captain, Luffy."

Danny'd turned his head slightly to the apparent captain, only to discover he'd gone. In the background he could hear him calling out to someone, and very quickly came eye to eye with Nami, who just sighed.

* * *

Chopper wasn't surprised when Luffy disappeared at random; the scent was telling him he had gone below deck, most likely to try and get Ussop and Franky outside to meet the new boy. Hmmm...

"I'll need to check to see how you're healing, considering today's events, mr. ..."

"Danny. It's Danny."

Chopper nodded. "Alright then, Danny. Let's head back to the medical bay so I can make sure you're all right."

As they walked back from where they came, Chopper somehow felt that the unknown presence inside Danny was just as paranoid as he currently was. He sighed inwardly. What is it with him that...scares me?

* * *

"Any dizziness? Nausea?"

"No and no."

Chopper briefly wrote down a note on his clipboard.

"Well Danny, you're good to go."

Said boy sensed an undertone. "Is there something wrong?" Chopper eyed him in confusion. Danny continued. "Ever since I got here, you've been...distant, even though I woke up a short time ago." At this point Danny was slightly concerned for the reindeer. It could just be that his ghost powers were messing with him again...

Chopper, in truth, was surprised. The boy sitting in front of him on the bed in the medical bay had just pinpointed his wariness from so much as a single observation. Could he...no. It's not possible. But...

"What can you sense?"

That question was an instant icebreaker. Danny's face was blank, but his eyes betrayed concern, and...worry? "Kindly elaborate, please."

"I may be able to help you if I knew what was causing you stress." Danny knew this would come at some point, but, why so soon? And by Chopper no less. For _some_ obvious reasons.

Chopper himself was taken aback by Danny's offer to help. And strangely enough the 'odd presence' around him seemed to have lightened to a calmer feel. Could it be that... No. No, he couldn't be that kind. It must be his nerves getting the best of him again.

Chopper smiled lightly. "I'm sure this is a problem that'll sort itself out over time."

Danny blinked - he was SURE Chopper would ask more about himself. Well, he had literally felt the apprehension coming off the poor doctor after all. "If you say so, then."

It was at this point both Chopper and Danny now shared a mutual understanding and friendship.

* * *

It was up until six-thirty that Chopper and Danny began their climb down from the crow's nest. Why? The two decided to share lookout duty, and the dinner call had been made. The rest of the crew down below made their way inside the galley, exuberant cries sounding from Luffy. Hearing those cries had the two teens (figuratively) falling to deck - Danny had heard from Chopper just how much Luffy liked food. Especially of the meat variety.

Upon landing the twosome made a mad dash for first through the door. In some sense, it was hard to believe that they became friends in a short amount of time, all wariness temporarily put aside. Danny was surprised Chopper could keep up so well, considering how short he was. He was _fast_. Then again, Cujo came to mind... The mini-race ended with a tie, both literally diving into the nearest empty seat available, with Luffy and Long-nose applauding two seconds later. Luffy himself was thrilled that Chopper and Danny were getting along so well already.

Said boys were panting lightly, a silent statement and agreement shared between them. _Rematch next time._ It was then the scent of food finally slapped Danny, and he turned just in time to see the blond from earlier waltz in through another door, balancing plate upon plate with various foods. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Luffy fidgeting in his seat excitedly. Just how good was this man's food, exactly?

This wasn't exactly a big question at the present time, so Danny took the initiative to briefly identify his figurative captors. In terms of table 'placement', Chopper and himself were sitting across from each other, close to the door they previously ran through. To Chopper's left was the red haired woman from before, she looked to be about eighteen, with chocolate brown eyes and milky skin. From what he remembered, she wore a white T-shirt and blue miniskirt, both with alternating orange and yellow circles on the sides, and heels. To her left was Long-nose, (both giving him a small wave), and to HIS left was the biggest guy he'd ever seen - _he might even be taller then Skulker_, Danny thought warily.

To Danny, this guy could only be described as something akin to a punk-style Hulk. Even when sitting he surpassed everyone in height! He looked to be in his late thirties, his hair was bright blue and stylized into an upright wave, shades covering his eyes, and what made poor Danny do a double take was the fact this guy had two chin clefts; think three miniaturized mountains turned upside down. He was insanely muscular, and his arms just plain looked like Popeye's, with the only difference he could see being the blue star tattoo on each forearm; he also wore a red Hawaiian-style button-up shirt that was currently open. Danny could almost swear he was being studied underneath the shades.

To Danny's right was a black-haired woman who appeared to be in her early thirties with defined facial features and pale skin. She wore a purple dress with black web lace on the hem and neckline and black boots. Her blue eyes were currently busy scanning a rather large tome. Beside her was another man with - he wasn't making this up! - moss-green hair, who appeared to be seventeen. His skin was tanned, he had three gold earrings on his left ear, and he wore a white shirt with black pants, boots, a green sash of sorts around his waist, and a darker green bandana around his left bicep. The man appeared to have been asleep, but his left eye decided to eye the boy after feeling he was being watched. There was an empty space beside him. Luffy was sitting at the farthest end of the table, looking happier then a dog in a butcher shop as he eyed the blond setting the food down onto the table.

Said blond was wearing a navy dress suit with a pink undershirt, erm...underneath. His bangs completely covered his left eye, his right blue one left uncovered - along with his eyebrow, which swerved into a spiral shape. Danny finally noticed that plates and silverware had been set out, along with food that looked and smelled like heaven. Moss and Blond, the latter having finally sat down at the empty space, briefly glared lightly at each other before taking their shares of food along with everyone else. Well, Danny was more tentative, considering this was food he wasn't used to, but eh, whatever. Now was the moment of truth. _Oh Gods, it DOES taste like heaven...!_

"So Danny, how are you enjoying your first stay with the Straw Hat Pirates?" Asked Nami. Said boy had been savouring the taste of his first bite, and quickly swallowed the food upon hearing her question. "Straw Hat Pirates?"

Instant butterfly effect. Everyone stopped eating and eyed him. Luffy took the opportunity to steal a piece of steak off of the fork of Long-nose. "W-What I mean is, I knew you guys were pirates, I just didn't know which one", he stuttered. Then more sheepishly, "I kind of do a lot of traveling, and I don't exactly keep up with the news." This was true, with his periodic excursions into the Ghost Zone, and all the barrages of ghost attacks barely gave him any time to keep up with social times, let alone keep up with schooling. Jeez, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz must really be worried by now...

There was confusion. "Then, why did you fall out of that...whatever it was?" This time it came from Long-nose. Danny could only shrug. "I barely even know myself." He said that in a tone that suggested he wanted the subject to be changed. Truth is he was still trying to make sense of the whole scenario he went through before waking up in a random bed at sea. Danny could now literally feel the calculating stares he was getting.

"In all seriousness, I only know the names of three crew members. You now know my name is Danny, so..."

_Yes! Message received!_

Long-nose, Wave, Raven, Moss, and Blond soon came to be know as, in chronological order of placement in Danny's perception: Ussop, Franky, Robin, Zoro, and Sanji. Danny had just memorized who was who when Ussop suddenly realized the food stuck on his fork was missing.

"Hey!" He cried angrily, and in the span of three seconds, (obviously) almost everyone around Danny discovered that some of the food on their plates was missing and began eliciting their own anger towards Luffy. Danny blinked for the third time that day - every law of physics he could think of was broken due to the apparent captain having shoved every morsel of food he could get his hands on into his mouth. The complete strangeness of it all was the fact his cheeks were the size of freaking basketballs! Luffy was denying every accusation thrown at him, even though his arms kept stretching out to grab more food off more plates. Wait... _Wha - his arms can stretch like rubber!_ Speak of the proverbial devil, one hand was snaking its way to his plate through all the commotion.

Danny wasn't going to take that.

Luffy's hand was two seconds away from his plate when his own hand shot out and grabbed the offending hand's wrist. Then there came the sudden hush again. Everyone else had completely turned their gaze to the younger teen in surprise. Danny slowly let go of Luffy's wrist and edged his plate away a tad.

"Sorry, past circumstances taught me to be quick when the time called. Well, that, and I haven't had a meal this good in a very long time either."

Silence. Then Luffy - having retracted his hand - laughed loudly. Some people either joined him, or just went back to eating/protecting what food they had left. "I've had better", Zoro grumbled under his breath. It was the fight from outside all over again; with the only exception being that Luffy was cheering them on. Nami decided to perform the best double-backhand he'd ever seen, and proceeded to do the same to Luffy.

Danny turned to Robin. "Is it always like this?" he inquired. The dark-haired woman merely gave him a sort of resigned smile. "You'll get used to it." He briefly watched the newly reborn chaos before letting a light chuckle escape and dove into his food.

* * *

**Arid is nowhere to be seen in her First Nation's home, so instead we find her sitting near the cliff's edge. "I will admit that I'm rather surprised." She turns to face you readers before continuing. "I really do understand that you were all waiting for someone, someday, to post an OP/DP crossover, yet it's been perceived to me that there's something inside all of you that's preventing your creativity for this kind of crossover to be unchained, brought to the world. What I'm saying is that this reminds me of a certain situation, oh say…" – she pretends to tap her chin in thought – "Jesus tied and left to hang on a cross-shaped pitch, only to be freed by God's power."**

**She sighs lightly. "Very similar for me. My Cross-pitch was the fact that I didn't have an account on Fanfiction some months back, and my 'freedom' was when I **_**finally**_** discovered the age limit for when I actually was allowed to follow my drive, and signed up to begin my writing on this type of story. So why should all of YOU be left hanging on your Pitchs?"**

**Then she smirks wryly. "I do recall one comment left by a guest stating that he/she was a tad iffy; he/she was just about to create his/her own DP/OP crossover when I suddenly published mine before him/her. Fellow writers and readers, all I'm trying to say is we shouldn't let hesitation of any kind hold us back from creating our own masterpieces in the world of literature."**

***She stretches, turns and faces the cliff edge once again***

"**When I first started writing Spectre Thrill, I had originally intended to start sometime in the Skypea Arc, but found no spark. And I was originally going to have Danny tell Chopper about his 'status'; however, the comment left by the guest whom I mentioned earlier told me to let the Straw Hats 'get used to the idea of other worlds'. Thank you, whoever you are, and if you happen to read this, you'll have just saved me from creating a possible roadblock that – I swear on His name! – would've taken me months to overcome. Once again, thanks. Now if you all don't mind – "**

***She pulls a scrap of paper out of her right pocket***

" – **I'm just going to see how… Oh man, I knew my fic would get recognition, but I never thought… and for one chapter **_**alone**_**…!"**

**The plot bunny suddenly appears behind Arid, its whip at the ready, and fur considerably less orange. It pauses when it notices her sitting stiff as stone. As it slowly padded to where she was sitting, it notices a piece of unfolded paper in her left hand, reads it over her shoulder, and adopts the same shell-shocked expression.**

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	3. Ghost boy, meet Straw-Hats

**The view fades to the same cliff top we saw in the last chapter. Oh? Arid and the plot bunny aren't there anymore. Hmmm...**

**Eh? What's this?**

**The readers suddenly see a school building, teenagers flooding out amidst the ringing of the bell. Among those teens is Arid, calmly strolling at her own pace with a bag slung over her left shoulder. She walks a far enough distance that she deems safe, (away from prying eyes of course), sets her bag onto the ground, and pulls out a transponder. A teleportation transponder.**

**"Send THAT home...", she mutters, zapping her bag away and out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind after all. Finally she zaps herself into a more mountainous region, and takes in the sights and sounds of the tranquility.**

**"Yes... At last..."**

***Eyes narrow dramatically***

**"FREEEEEEEEDOOOMMMM!", she screams in a way that might suggest she just climbed Mt. Everest in under four hours. "Man am I ever glad that exams are OVER with!"**

**Small rocks tumbling down is heard, and she turns to find a headstone with her name on it, staring at her. She scoffs, kicking the headstone off the edge, and watches as it tumbles down into a chasm. Then she turns to the readers.**

**"That thing will only become mine the day I decide to stop writing. Anyways, this chapter was actually going to be a two-part, but then I thought, 'Nah, I'm just gonna save the crazy shiz for later and let Danny get used to the Straw Hats, and vice versa'; but just to let you know, once I post this chapter, I'm going to 'research' the episodes of the Thriller Bark arc so I can map out how I'm going to do the next chapter.**

**"In any case, I apologize in advance if any of the characters seem a bit OOC, I just feel that certain people are more intuitive then they let on."**

***bows***

**She blinks suddenly in realization, materializes a jet pack on her person, and flies off comically with a 'nothing-to-do-here' expression - just barely dodging the arrow sent her way by a certain Naruto Usagi.**

**"Alright, let's DO THIS!"**

***Disclaimer in prologue***

* * *

The next two days Danny spent were about mapping out the ship, and learning about her inhabitants. Let's see how this went, shall we?

_DAY 1_

The long-nosed teen was really hard for Danny not to miss. He'd nearly bumped into said teen as he was absentmindedly heading towards the storage room. Usopp had been asked by Franky to get a few supplies for something he was working on. As he decided to help lighten the load, Danny took his initiative.

"So, how did you become a member of this crew?"

Usopp glanced at the younger teen from the corner of his eye. "Why the sudden urge to ask?"

Danny shrugged as best he could, considering he was holding stuff. "I might as well know about the people I'm staying with since I don't know how long I'll be here."

Silence. Usopp seemed to consider Danny's words.

More silence followed.

Usopp fumbled lightly with his cargo of steel pipes into one arm as they exited storage. Suddenly his free arm shot into the air. "They begged for me to join when they saw my crew of eight million men, lead by me, the great captain Usopp!" He deflated from Zoro's "Liar" as the green haired man strolled past. Danny laughed lightly, managing to place a comforting hand on Usopp's left shoulder. "Ah, I knew that was a lie when you started speaking with that much gusto. But in any case, I just let you have your fun."

Usopp blinked at Danny's words before smiling lightly. "There's not many people I know of who have knowledge about my lies, yet enjoy them anyway." Danny's brow rose.

"I first lived in Syrup Village in the East Blue, where I was known as the biggest liar around. My best and favourite lie was about pirates heading towards the island." He chuckled at the fond memory as they descended into the deeper layers of the ship. "Even with all the ruckus I caused, no one threw me out. Even if they could catch me, that is. And if that happened, Kaya wouldn't be on the path she is today..."

Usopp could literally feel Danny's questioning look. "She's a friend and heir of her estate who was bedridden with an unknown disease. I would sneak past the gates and tell her stories - she always seemed to feel better when I did so. " At this Danny smirked wryly, sensing there was more to Kaya then Usopp was willing to say.

"All the same" - Danny's smirk dropped almost instantaneously upon hearing the serious note - "I never thought about how true my lie was." Usopp's expression darkened at the memories. "Kaya's butler, Kuro Klahadore, was the originally the captain of the Black Cat Pirates, whom feigned his own death through the help of his hypnotist, Django. He'd been planning on having Kaya give him every last bit of her fortune in her will in the case of her death." Danny grimaced from the vague reminder of Vlad and his twisted, fruit loop ways.

"He was going to kill her himself."

Usopp nodded. "As well as make it look like an accident, and use his crew as a distraction. You'll figure out the rest from there." He smiled lightly from those words.

"So it ended with Luffy kicking his ass, and you joining the crew. However that doesn't fully tell me why you joined in the first place", Danny reminded. Usopp's laugh surprised him, even more so with what he heard next: "I always wanted to take after my old man ever since I was a kid. He is a pirate himself, after all."

It was then Danny noticed they were in the maintenance room, finally. Franky's back was turned to them, tending to a part he deemed working inadequately. "Oi, Franky! We brought the materials you wanted!"

"We?"

He turned, apparently not expecting Danny to be around. "Ah, Danny-bro, didn't think you'd be here."

...Danny-bro?

"Mm, I was trying to familiarize myself here when I ran into Usopp. I must say" - he eyed the interior briefly -"this ship has the touch of excellent craftsmanship."

Now, what Danny didn't expect to happen to Franky were tears to start rolling down his face.

"...T-The words of-f a truly kind-hearted man!" He bawled. Danny blinked, slowly setting down the rods he carried onto the flooring. Usopp chuckled lightly, after having set his materials near Franky, set a hand on the younger teen's shoulder. "Franky's the one who built her - Thousand Sunny - shortly before we left Water 7. So of course he's going to be stirred by what you said", he explained. Danny nodded slightly, wondering what exactly he meant by 'shortly'. And what the heck Water 7 even was. As far as Danny knew about the unusual crew he was staying with, Luffy had a knack for random teleportation, Chopper was a doctor (though he didn't doubt there was a hidden strength), Zoro (obviously) being a swordsman, Usopp the marksman (he has a freaking kabuto slingshot!), and Franky a shipwright whom he realized could very well bench press his opponent.

"...nny...anny...Danny!"

Said teen blinked out of his stupor to see Usopp's hand waving in front of his face. He brushed it away.

"Ah, sorry, I was trying to get what I knew and learned figured out."

Usopp sighed - already this boy was posing a mystery left unsaid.

Then Franky, without turning around, said, "So Danny-bro, if I may ask, what's your family like?"

Danny blinked at his words. So I'm not the only one trying to figure out the new blood. He had to hand it to him though, making the casualty disguise the underlying detective at work. I'll have to be more careful, he thought with the tiniest of smirks. Indeed, this was going to be quite interesting, in the never ending battle of wits.

"My parents are...eccentric inventors and scientists. And they're the top scientists in my town."

"In what study?" asked Usopp. "Physics? Meteorology?"

Danny considered his next words carefully; somehow, he could feel that they were wanting to hear more about his sudden appearance.

"Inventing. Although more towards the supernatural spectrum."

Franky merely nodded, before setting down his tools and standing up to stretch. Then Danny noted with surprise that the materials that were given were all but gone, nary a piece left.

Danny stretched, waving a little as he turned towards the door. "I'll see you around!" Usopp and Franky eyed his retreating form; Danny's response roiling through the older man's head. So his parents were inventors, huh...?

* * *

Danny had just realized how warm it was in the lower layers of the ship when he stepped outside into a fresh sea breeze. He calmly walked to the mainmast, sitting down and leaning against it. Overhead a small flock of gulls drifted along the air; the teen sighed softly, mulling over past hours.

The night before, he'd been commissioned the medical bay, via Chopper, since the little doctor just HAD to be sure that he (Danny) wasn't procuring any injuries or illnesses of any kind. From what he knew about the reindeer, he was kind-hearted doctor who made sure his patients were taken care of properly, if you don't count any of some of the 'over-reactions'. He did, however, seem to be a bit wary about something when Danny was nearby, yet he knew the doctor didn't know what exactly the wariness was about. But even so, he was a fun lover, and Danny was just fine as long as the little doctor was enjoying himself.

* * *

*Arid raises a brow at the recent writing, and turns to the reader*

"Should I have written that part? Chopper WAS technically the first person on the Grand Line Danny'd met, but even so..."

*Ponders to self for five minutes*

*shrugs*

"Meh. On with the chappie!"

* * *

Danny's blue eyes turned to the sky. It was strange, really, to be under a sky so familiar, yet so different at the same time. His thoughts gradually drifted to his home - How were his friends and family? Did they realize he was gone? Worse yet, did the whole of the Ghost Zone realize he went MIA? And...why did that portal take him here, and mess with his head? Of course he knew none of these answers so far, but that didn't mean he couldn't try to figure them out, right?

Danny's lips pursed in thought, trying to recall the past days...

_~Flashback~_

It was just like any other day - Danny had, once again, had to fight off Skulker and his attempt to take his pelt (Ew!), and deal with the Box Ghost, who'd appeared three times that day. And once again, he got the brunt end of the stick with Lancer.

Danny was walking home, his two best friends, Sam - an ultra-recyclo vegetarian goth girl with a mean kick - and Tucker - a techno geek who's proved time and time again that he could hack into government files (GIW for example) anytime he wished. The trio were casually conversing about whatever subject came to mind on their way to the Fenton household; the main topic: recent occurrences in the Ghost Zone that were weird even FOR said zone.

As of late, there had been three new ghost appearances in the recent month, yet all three ghosts (or were they actually spirits?) had acted like they'd never even heard of the Ghost Zone. Odder still, the three spirits (?) seemed to be connected to a strange, phantasmagoric portal that most certainly WASN'T of the Ghost Zone brand. Whenever the portal appeared, so did the spirits, and vice versa. Danny had personally met the three, and from what the trio knew, they almost seemed to be...pleading for something. They had always spoken of 'stolen shadows', and usually seemed determined to bring Danny to the random-ass portal before it disappeared.

Many questions churned in the halfa's mind. Who were they? What did they want? And why the hell do they not have reflections? Pretty much every ghost Danny had fought in the past had a reflection in the windows of buildings during a fight, yet...

*Time Skip: three days later*

Danny had _had enough_. The same three ghosts appeared, TOGETHER this time, and looked more then ready to drag Danny to the portal by force, kicking and screaming if need be. All he knew was that this mystery had to be solved soon, and that 'soon' had to be NOW. It was a - very - reckless move, yes, but there was no way he was going to let this keep happening, and get further annoyed. What his plan was, was to head into the Ghost Zone, find out whatever he could about the random thing, and (hopefully) keep it from causing hell he didn't inflict or need. Jeez!

So he passed through his parents' portal, in ghost form, and it wasn't five minutes until he came face to face with the three nuisances. As well as a few dozen buddies surrounding them. Danny sighed in irritation.

_Of course this'll be Walker's prison all over again._

Never less, he steeled himself, ready for a massive fight he knew would happen. And massive it was - most of these new spirit-ghosts had abilities he didn't recall any kind of ghost having. Now what pissed him off further was the fact that they were actually trying to trap him, detain him; their attacks were more to wear him out and make the job easier for them. Danny knew he had to finish this, and fast.

The spirit-ghosts watched in confusion as the halfa managed to put a bit of distance between himself and his attackers, and take a deep breath; that confusion turned to shock and fear when he _screamed._

An unearthly cry left him, as rippling green waves of raw power and energy bulldozed over the spirit-ghosts - the more lucky ones got hit by the outer fringes of the Ghostly Wail. Eventually, he stopped, panting from the exertion.

_Why the hell must this attack drain so much energy?_

It was all too sudden for him. Apparently, the nuisances had stationed another spirit-ghost to be in hiding, in case an emergency of some sort came up. And this one, apparently, seemed to specialize in 'finales'. All Danny knew was that he'd been grabbed from behind, and was being dragged - DRAGGED - to a sort of outcrop rock formation, despite initial struggling. And behind it was the portal. In itself, it was an unusual shade of blue, with darker blue streaks swirling around, almost like a whirlpool. Hell, it SOUNDED faintly like a whirlpool, accompanied by the lingering smell of saltwater. And at that point, Danny realized his captor had released him, he was five feet from the portal, and _said portal had a freaking gravity well pulling him towards it!_

It's obvious for anyone who's not comfortable with something to try and get away. But to add insult to injury, the first three spirit-ghosts from before had managed to pull themselves up. And the next thing Danny knew, he was surrounded by walls of blue, seemingly underwater, and the pain, oh the pain! His skull felt like it was about to rip itself apart. It was the kind of pain that could only make you scream for a moment before it just becomes too much.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity did he finally break free into fresh air. But by this time, all Danny wanted to do after his experience was close his eyes and drift away. He remembered the sound of softly rolling open waters, and panicked cries. He vaguely remembered something grabbing a hold of him as he went under...

~ End Flashback~

"'You coming or what?"

Danny opened his eyes at Zoro's inquiry. He slowly rose and stretched. "What time is it?"

"Ero-cook just sounded the dinner call. You'd better hurry if you don't want Luffy to eat everything before you get to the galley", he stated briskly.

It was upon those words that the swordsman turned and headed away. Danny decided that no words were needed to describe the swordsman - just hearing what he had to say was enough for him.

* * *

As Danny had been 'quarantined' to the bed at the Medical Bay the night before, he figured he'd be there again.

"Hi!"

"Gah!"

_Freakin' Luffy and his teleportation abilities!_

The boy gave a halfhearted glare to the straw hat-wearing teen as he tried to steady his pounding heart. Luffy was either remaining oblivious to Danny's near-heart attack, or he'd actually waited for the chance to scare him (Danny); well, we'll never fully know with him.

"So~, what are you going to Chopper's Bay for? Are you hurt or something?"

Luffy's head was tilted to one side, a curious look spread across his features. Danny himself, after having composed himself, held a blank expression.

"...Aren't I supposed to be there for the night?"

"Shishishishi! Nope!", laughed Luffy. "Chopper gave the 'ok' earlier at dinner, remember?"

And without even waiting for a reply, he grabbed Danny's arm and proceeded to lead him to the guy's bedroom. (?) Danny vaguely remembered Chopper saying something, but he couldn't discern very well over, like everyone else, trying to protect his food from the black hole known as Luffy.

The inside of the bedroom looked about slightly smaller then a deluxe game room, with left side being a sort of lounge area, and the right with bunk beds lining the wall. On one of the beds, the lower level had a set of folded pyjamas resting on the covers. Most of the guys were already asleep, few just dozing off. Chopper briefly turned bleary brown orbs to the pair before settling down to sleep again.

Danny shrugged, walking over to his new bed and began changing into his pj's, as did Luffy.

Danny could only wonder what a single adventure was like with the Straw Hat crew.

Oh, Danny. Little do you know...

* * *

_DAY 2_

It must've been the feeling that there was one less person around that made Danny wake up early the next day. Tired blue orbs blinked open slowly, as their owner tiredly sat up and stretched luxuriously, yawning. There were very few nights he had actually gotten a full eight hours of sleep - he surmised that it was probably just battle instinct telling him something was amiss. He silently ghosted - figuratively - out the room and onto the deck, into dawn air. The skies were faintly tinged with the rays of the morning sun; albeit it wouldn't fully rise for a few more hours.

Danny's sharpened hearing picked up sounds of movement somewhere in the galley. Or was it inside BESIDE the galley? He didn't fully know. He'd only been on a pirate's vessel once, and it was Youngblood's; at the time, he was trying to free the adults of Amity Park, with the aid of his fellow teens.

Danny, curiosity getting the best of him, stepped inside to investigate.

Indeed, someone was up and about - the lights were on, and the sound of briefly rushing water led Danny to what he presumed was the kitchen, and found -

"Sanji?"

Said blond turned upon hearing his name, obviously having not suspected anyone to come early, before turning his eyes back to...whatever he was doing.

"What are you doing here so early?", he asked.

Danny shrugged. "I guess I subconsciously felt that someone was missing." And for further clarification, "What I mean is, there are so many attacks on my town that I learned to be aware for anything out of the ordinary."

_Jeez, now I'm starting to sound like Jazz!_

Sanji hummed. "I guess it seems only natural."

Danny watched as he took a few ingredients out of the fridge and began expertly preparing what looked like a several-course breakfast. "Do you always wake up early like this?"

Sanji remained silent for a moment. "You could say it's like second nature for me to wake up at around this time and start cooking. And I'd head to the bathroom and get ready for the day if I were you - the idiot'll smell this at any time, and once HE'S up, everyone's up."

_Luffy. It_ had_ to be Luffy._

"Thanks."

Fortunately Danny remembered where exactly the bathroom was, grabbed his discarded clothes, and proceeded to his destination to get himself clean. And it was shortly after Danny got dressed into his usual clothes when he heard the loud cry of: "MEAT~!" He couldn't help but snigger at this; Luffy was just like an alarm clock, only louder, and more obnoxious. And living.

* * *

Danny opted wholeheartedly to relax as much as he could after the uproarious breakfast hour (and by uproarious, I mean accidentally starting a food fight when Luffy tried to snatch some bacon from his plate). Needless to say, relaxation sounded like a great idea. Especially with how the day was looking.

Bright, fresh sunlight washed over the entire area, a light sea breeze nipping gently to even out the warmth, few, fluffy white clouds dotted the sky here and there, and the waves turned at a soothing pitch. Everything just seemed so perfect. So was it really convenience that he found a couple of lawn chairs on the deck?

The sound of footsteps alerted him, just in time to see Redhead - Nami, right? - stroll up to one of the chairs and settle herself down, a newspaper in hand. Danny hesitated for a moment, before shrugging nonchalantly, thinking 'Meh, what the heck', and calmly took the other chair. Nami appeared not to have noticed him, although it was hard to tell due to the sunlight and her sunglasses.

"So Danny, how are you enjoying yourself so far?"

Ah, so she DID notice him.

He watched a few seagulls drift by passively in the sky. "So far... This is a very interesting crew you have."

A pause. Then she chuckled under her breath upon realizing the situation.

"In case you're wondering, Luffy is the captain of the crew", she said to Danny's astonishment. "Although it's strange really, seeing as how we seem to swap that role quite often."

That last bit seemed to be more towards herself; Danny blinked - Luffy was the captain? Childlike, black-hole, teleportation-extraordinaire Luffy? Now he's heard everything!

She chuckled lightly. "I wouldn't even be surprised if you were to take control at some point."

Danny sweat-dropped; just how often did THAT happen...?

"...So it's actually really easy for the role of captain to be switched at any time?"

Nami turned and gave him a teasing look. "What? Are you thinking about taking over?"

Danny sighed, and didn't respond; he knew fully well that this was a fight he wouldn't win. Nami laughed and settled back to reading the paper. For a few minutes, there was utter peace. Usopp was further ahead, regaling Chopper and Luffy with one of his many tales. Zoro had decided to take a nap, leaning against a tree -

How the hell is there a tree on deck?

- underneath the shade, and Danny adamantly moved to sit on the grassy deck when Robin came into view with a rather large tome. Danny found, to his surprise, that he preferred the grass over the lawn-chair. He snuck a peek at the embellished title, 'The Rainbow Mist'. Obviously, it was a series.

Franky, at some point, decided to get some fresh air after spending a bit of time after checking over Sunny. It was peaceful, until Sanji came over with a tray balanced on his hand, two glasses with exotic looking drinks on top.

Now Danny, keeping a 'nonexistent air' to make himself unnoticeable, could only force himself to not laugh, just barely. Sanji was literally - figuratively - bending over backwards for Nami and Robin, even going so far as to try and impress them with a flourish; and since he was SO overjoyed to be in the presence of two women, he started skipping, hearts literally in his eyes, and a cry of "Mellorine~!" with each step. Now he had a very good idea as to what kind of mayhem would fall upon the world should Tucker ever meet Sanji!

"Oi, Swirly-brow, stop making yourself look like a pansy and let me sleep."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY, MARIMO!?"

Now it was costing all of his willpower (Danny's) to not go anywhere above a snicker. Which ended abruptly as soon as he saw swords and kicks flying. Usopp's storytelling had ended as soon as the brawl started, with said teen and Luffy egging the fighters on, and Chopper having another of his 'over-reactions'. Nami huffed in annoyance, irritated about the peace not being able to withstand - she stood up, placed her newspaper carefully on her chair, and proceeded to do the same action she did the first time Danny stepped onto deck - ram both her fists into the heads of the two males.

Danny, needless to say was shocked. He sincerely hoped that there wouldn't be a day where Sam met Nami.

* * *

*Laughing hard*

"You guys know the look he's got: the white-eye, 'I-can't-believe-I-just-saw-that' look! Especially now he knows just how scary Nami can be with her fists alone!"

* * *

"Does this happen a lot?" He asked Robin. Wow. Déjà vu.

She smiled at him. "Some would think that she's the enforcer of the crew, despite her role of being the navigator. But don't worry, she generally uses her fighting prowess in combat."

What IS it with Robin that made him feel oddly secure after hearing that?

* * *

It was at lunch when Danny finally made the full connection about Luffy's stretching powers ("I just now realized this) after witnessing again HIS hand snake towards his food, while the owner was at the other end of the table. And Danny once again displayed how good his reflexes were by - again - grabbing his wrists. You read right; that was plural. And after an amusing lunch with cat-and-mouse being played, Danny decided he'd join Usopp and Chopper with their card game. It was after a few moments he realized that one member was missing.

"Hey guys, where's Luffy?"

Usopp never strayed his eyes far from his hand. "If he was hungry" - he paused to listen carefully, and nodded in satisfaction - "then we'd be hearing Sanji throw him out of the kitchen. Which means he's either trying to snitch one of Nami's mikans, or he's at the figurehead. The latter seems most likely."

Danny nodded, and set down his cards as a silent declaration of being done with the game. Usopp and Chopper both took a look at Danny's discarded cards, at their own respective hands, and groaned. Beaten by someone younger; and with a Full House no less!

The younger teen raised a brow, but smirked nonetheless at his achievement and set off to find his straw hat-wearing enigma. He'd seen where Nami's grove was, and a brief check told him that Luffy certainly was at the ship's figurehead.

Another quick investigation later had Danny staring with a raised eyebrow upon seeing Luffy sitting on the figurehead, watching the sea. Question was, what the hell was he doing there?

* * *

Some part of Luffy recognized that his crew and the newcomer, Danny, were gradually getting used to the other's presence, yet another part (a mystery instinct?) told him that Danny was still a bit wary. Lingering thoughts still plagued him like a disease. Danny seems nice, but why is he hiding something? Something unknown? He proved he could be a fighter with the right motivation, i.e., how he kept Luffy away from what looked like a _really tasty morsel..._

Eugh, he could already feel himself heat up a tad, just by _wondering_ about the boy. Ooh! Then what was that mystery dot he fell out of...how long ago again? A few hours? Days? Eh, no matter. And if Danny was the one who came through, then maybe HE knows something about it! Yeah! That's it! ...Maybe he's a...

A...

A mystery portal maker! That would be so cool!

Suddenly he felt eyes on him, and turned with a questioning look; Danny's expression mirroring his.

"Hi Danny!" he crowed. "What are you doing here?"

The younger teen shrugged nonchalantly. "Not much, just wondered where you were and all." He hesitated slightly. "Can I..."

Luffy brightened. "Sure!", he said, shifting around so that Danny could have space to sit beside him on the figurehead. He carefully picked his way down, wary that he was close to the edge, and sat down beside Luffy.

There was silence for a brief moment. Danny turned his gaze towards the sea. "So why is this crew called the Straw-Hat Pirates?"

Luffy barked his signature laugh in response. "It's because of this", he said, gently plucking the worn straw hat from his head, memories flashing in his eyes. "I was given this hat by my friend Shanks when I was a kid, and it was his treasure, as it is mine. It's not just a treasure though." Danny gave him a curious look.

"It's a promise; that we'll meet again someday, when I've finally made it." He said this almost wistfully. At this point Luffy was deep into memory lane, eyes misting over from fond recollections of the past. Danny merely nodded in understanding; a real treasure was something that held a deep meaning and value to someone, and can also be said for friends or family.

"So what's that mystery dot about?"

_Well damn, he sure snapped out fast._

"…Mystery dot?"

"You know, the one you fell out of! Remember?"

Danny sighed. "I wish I could explain that properly myself. For all we know" – he gave Luffy a solemn, yet serious look – "There may have been a reason for the meeting of you, your crew, and myself to happen." He turned away, pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Whatever I do remember from before coming here…"

He said too much, and he knew it.

"Really? What happened? How were you involved? What –"

Danny just tuned him out slightly, considering and weighing his options. Maybe, if he could weave his words just right…

At that exact moment, Sanji made the dinner call, effectively snapping Danny to reality, and Luffy to cease his near-relentless interrogation. "MEAT~!" Luffy cried happily, every thought about Danny's unknown backstory forgotten. He would've accidently knocked Danny off the figurehead hadn't the teen instinctively turned intangible. Danny, realizing what he did, quickly shifted into a stance to pretend that he just barely dodged. Luffy in turn was taken by surprise.

Luffy was almost certain he was about to accidently knock poor Danny off – yet part of his arm felt like it hit only could air. And didn't Danny almost…fade?

… … …

Oh what was he even doing, his crew was about to start dinner without him! And Danny. After all, food was food, and it was meant to be eaten, in any case. Luffy promptly pulled a disoriented-looking Danny up and over, remembering last second to let go after nearly pulling the boy's arm off, and ran for the galley like a pack of rabid wolves were after him. Danny paused, rolled his eyes at the randomness of the entire situation, and took off into a jog to ensure that Luffy wouldn't inhale all the food before anyone else could get a share.

At least today…

…He didn't have to deal with anything supernatural. Yet.

* * *

**"'The heck are you looking at?"**

**Arid, at some point, had landed in the outskirts of another forest, and was currently staging a glare-off with a wolf pack. The alpha growled in warning. Jeez, she was just passing through! She materialized a wooden bo staff into her hands, and was just about to fight when both parties were surprised by the appearance of the plot bunny wielding a chainsaw. Arid glanced between the plot bunny and the pack before turning back to the bunny.**

**"You do realize that if I'm dead, or defeated, because of the wolves, then who'll finish the story?"**

**Well obviously the plot bunny knew it _had_ no choice but to fight side by side with its rival, and stood in position next to her.**

**"And seriously, put that thing away. It's major overkill for this battle."**

**The plot bunny eyed the chainsaw in it's paws, which was slowly dying down, shrugged, and stuffed the weapon into its dimensional pocket while pulling out its whip. Arid then turns to you readers as she remembers something important.**

**"FYI, just shortly after I post this new chapter, I'll be conducting 'research' so I can map out fresh chapters. Obviously, we'll be meeting Brook in the next chapter –"**

**She dodges a wolf lunging at her, proceeding into a defensive stance.**

**"– and to the Guest I mentioned previously – who now wants to be called Ghost of The Earth – yes Ghost, there is consideration being put in from comments for ideas on how to flesh out the storyline. However, you'll have to wait and see as to what comes next! Take care everyone!"**

**The scene fades to black as the temporary duo square off against the wolves.**


	4. Bermuda Triangle incarnate?

**"...Sunscreen...check. Sun_glasses_...check. Sense of humour?"**

***Feigns thinking***

**"Heh, obviously a check."**

**We find Arid in what seems to be a multi-segmented treehouse waaaaay up high in the Amazon Jungle. Oh? She appears to be packing for some kind of trip. Suddenly a Spider Monkey is seen bounding onto the sill of one of the windows, chatters something excitedly to the authoress, who turns to see you readers before reaching into a nearby fruit bowl, pulls out a banana -**

**"Thank you, Claude."**

**- and gently tosses the fruit to the simian, who chatters its thanks and bounds off. Arid then turns to you readers fully.**

**"Sorry for the long-ass wait, and part of the reason is because my random inspiration bursts were low on fuel. That, and I'm going to be heading to the beaches in the southern part of the world soon with family, so that's pretty much why you found me like this. Anyways, quite a bit of crazy shiz happens in this chapter, so be prepared for 'Idiot Trio' randomness, some bonding, and the appearance of a certain creepy-as-hell island. Oh yeah, quick question: when you go to manage your docs, and there's this little 'Life' section next to each doc about 'how many days they have left', does that mean that in so-and-so days the doc will delete itself or become unmanageable?"**

***Shakes head slowly***

**"I am so, very confused about that. Heh heh, random FF noobs, eh? In any case..."**

***Strikes a heroic pose***

**"TO NARNIA~!"**

***Disclaimer on the first chapter***

* * *

DAY 3

All was relatively peaceful for the crew - well, as peaceful as it could be, anyways. At some point Danny had discovered Nami's workroom, where she devised and stored her maps, and actually got a brief crash course lesson from said redhead (not that she fully realized, for specific reasons). But he was already through with that - right now the poor boy wondered how a simple mission could go bat-shit insane, what with a beaten-up Usopp yelling at a somewhat oblivious Luffy and Chopper. Well...

_~Flashback~_

_The Idiot Trio, Danny had learned they (Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper) were referred as, plus said boy crouched around an open hatch that was directly over the waters of the ship's aquarium. There'd been a recent catch of a school (?) of octopi, so it was understandable that three out of the four were excited. Danny had decided to tag along, partially because he was bored, but mostly because it was pretty easy to tell that shit would hit the fan with the Trio around, no matter how innocent the situation was in the first place. Well why not? He was used to constant action from ghost raids, anyways._

_Anyhow, he knew the guys were devising ways to fish out the octopi from the aquarium, and had vaguely heard Usopp say something to Luffy and Chopper along the lines of 'drowning because of their Devil-fruit powers' -_

What the hell was a Devil-Fruit? Was it what gave Luffy his ability to stretch, and Chopper to 'become' more human? And...because of the fruit...would they _actually drown_ in water?

_- and just barely missed hearing the sound of splashing water. Usopp had disappeared, so that meant he was trying to do the fishing himself._

_Some silence passed, with Luffy getting twitchy with impatience. Danny leaned forward a bit to see if he could catch a glimpse of the sniper, only to reel back sharply when a sudden, pinkish-red shape flew out of the waters. That shape was soon followed by more, the amount of flying octopi increasing with the boys' excitement. Well, astonishment, in Danny's case. Just what the hell was he using to send em' out, giant spatulas!?_

_Suddenly the 'Flight of The Octopus' cut off sharply, which sent alarm bells ringing in the boys' heads. They were SURE there'd been a bigger catch then this..._

_At this point Danny was in a furious internal debate on whether or not to go ghost, to check on Usopp's condition underwater, but with Chopper and Luffy RIGHT THERE -_

_Suddenly the water turned pitch black with ink -_

* * *

***Blink blink***

**"Well THAT'S an interesting reference to ROTG... Although _he_ uses black sand, not ink."**

***Snicker***

* * *

_- which only served to increase his worry and debate to off-scale levels._

_Meanwhile Luffy and Chopper were becoming increasingly worried about their companion, and after hearing from Nami about what's happening underwater only served to increase the three boys' panic. Luffy had decided to root out the sniper's whereabouts in the aquarium by sticking his hand - arm stretching - into the waters. And quite quickly, he got fed up with trying to find Usopp through touch perception. Especially when the remaining octopi tried to pull him under._

_"If I know where they're hiding...!"_

_Chopper could feel Danny's agitation and nervousness roll off him in waves, his own nervousness growing because of his unknown 'feeling' about Danny gradually getting stronger. Just what was it about that boy -_

_"Gomu Gomu no..."_

_Both simultaneously dived out of the way, just in time for Luffy's -_

_"Gatling!"_

_...Yes, that. Luffy's rapid-fire fists pounded the waters, literally imitating a Gatling gun, and seconds later a bruised and beaten Usopp came flying out of the aquarium, along with a few stray octopi that either somehow managed to hang on, or got into the same predicament poor Usopp was in. Danny took in the following chaos for a few seconds, and sighed heavily. Honestly, this crew..._

_~End Flashback~_

At the moment Usopp was pissed off at Sanji's remark about 'being noisy'; well apparently he was the one who told them to retrieve the damn octopi anyway!

"Oi! There's something floating out there!"

Danny's head whipped up towards the Crows Nest. Huh, so Zoro was up there...

Well, Danny thought, that's the biggest incitation anyone would get on a lazy day like this. It was enough of an incentive to get the now five looking over the starboard railing. Indeed, there was something there - and it was a barrel. A barrel that was tied shut by rope, and had a tiny black sail on top with a red patch on it. Squinting slightly, Danny could make out some writing on the red.

* * *

**"Oh yeah, I remember this...!"**

***Pause***

**"Friggin' barrels..."**

* * *

"A barrel?!"

"Look, it says 'treasure' right on it!" Usopp pointed out, leaning over the railing.

"You're right!" Said Luffy. "Maybe it's treasure that fell from a treasure ship?"

While the other guys talked of retrieving the 'treasure barrel', Danny had silently withdrawn to one side, but still stayed right at the railing, eying the lone object. Experience had taught him to be wary of something he wasn't familiar with or sure about, and the alarm bells in his head were a-ringing.

_~Slight time-skip~_

The 'Trio' were merrily singing and dancing around the barrel, while Danny kept giving the random barrel accusing glances. Honestly, incidents in the Ghost Zone were enough - well, sure this was a kind of break from all the fighting stress he was constantly being put through, but something told him that he was barely even beginning to recognize an average Straw-Hat type adventure. Just then Nami and Robin came out on deck.

"Sorry", Nami said, grabbing the attention of the remaining crew and passenger, "But it's just alcohol and some food."

"How do you know that if you didn't look?" Luffy challenged. Danny was, honestly, curious himself about how she knew.

Nami blinked. "See how it says 'Gift to the Sea God' on it? People send those barrels out to sea when they leave on a voyage, to pray to the sea gods for a safe journey." Danny nodded slightly; that DID sound reasonable enough. "The 'Gift' part means 'for the gods'."

"What, so it's pointless to have picked it up?" said Usopp.

Danny sighed, and tuned out the rest of the conversation, knowing full well they were going to open it anyways. He set his eyes on the barrel again, the chatter becoming background noise for him, this time concentrating slightly. No…no, he was definitely picking something up from the barrel's insides, and he was certain it wasn't food. So then, what…?

"Oi, God, we're gonna have some of this!" Luffy called out suddenly – to him – to the sky. Yup, they were bent on the alcohol. Luffy began working to untie the ropes holding the barrel closed, and Danny just barely resisted the urge to do a facepalm. If that thing was for the Gods of the Sea or whatever, shouldn't they leave it alone?!

"Yosh, it's open!"

A sudden explosion from inside the barrel propelled Luffy backwards as what looked to be a bright red light shot out into the sky.

_Oh heavens, was that going to signal someone?!_ Danny sure as hell hoped not. Dammit, that thing sure was bright…!

Eventually, the light faded away. But now Danny was on the alert. With a flare that was _that_ bright, there was no doubt someone would see it for sure.

"The drink flew out, lit up and disappeared!" said Chopper. Danny gave the reindeer a deadpan look. Really? Then Robin perceived the strange light as a flare, with Zoro making a jab about the flare being a prank from the Sea Gods.

"If it's simply a prank, then there's no issue", said Robin, although to Danny, she didn't look so sure. "However…"

Ah, and there was the other shoe. "However…?!" said a quaking Usopp and Chopper.

"It's possible that now this ship is being targeted by someone."

No shit! Danny thought errantly.

Usopp panicked. "You mean… It was some kind of trap?! By opening up that barrel, we told someone else that we're here?!" Danny, at this point, decided he'd heard enough, somehow tuning out Usopp's rambling about bounty hunters being after them. A wind breezed past him, and to his ears it sound a bit…off? Almost like it was picking up gradually.

… … …

_Oh shi –_

"Everyone, to your positions!" Nami commanded, running to the upper part of the deck, "We're heading south-southeast! A huge storm's approaching, we've got five minutes!"

_Oh shit!_

"I can't see anything but, if she says so it must be true. Nami, which way?!" If Luffy held a lot of trust in Nami's words, then Danny had no doubt that they were true.

"Two o'clock!"

Danny, being the only one not knowing what to do, was the odd one out until Chopper called him over. He briefly registered Chopper's larger form as black clouds and torrential downpour accompanied by heavy winds slammed into the Sunny Go. Thunder crashed overhead, and lightning split the clouds for a fraction of a second to strike the waters around them. The Sunny rocked precariously, sending poor Luffy, Chopper, and the blasted barrel to one side of the deck, just as a thick wave slithered after them. It was pure chaos.

"Everyone raise the sails!" Nami called. "We'll use the paddle!" Danny's head snapped to her in horror. _What was she_ planning?

"That?!" screamed Usopp, the poor sniper hanging onto the rail like a literal lifeline.

"I like that thing, it's so cool!" Luffy crowed. "Do it!"

_What the hell were they talking about?!_

Quickly, the main sail had been secured to the mast; Zoro giving the green about their state, while literally hanging on to the mast's rope ladder. Something told Danny that crazy shit was about to go down, so he quickly darted to where Luffy was perched, said teen grinning like a loon.

"Franky, go ahead!" Nami called out again. Wait… _Why was Franky at the wheel?_

"Yosh! Soldier Dock System Channel Zero…"

Something about the ship changed, what that was, Danny wasn't sure, but the next thing he knew was that he was being pinned slightly to the wall. He could hear the water beside the Sunny being sliced through.

_What in the – this ship turns into a sonic paddleboat?!_

* * *

Name sighed heavily. "That was close…"

"I hear you loud and clear", said Danny, adding his two cents.

"That's good, but… What's with this place?" said Zoro.

The black clouds were still overhead, but the rain had all but stopped, and a fog had settled around them. "It's not even night, and yet…"

"The fog's making it look so dark" Danny finished, worriedly. Zoro nodded. By now everyone had gathered at the port-side railing.

"Maybe… We're in that part of the ocean?" said Nami. 'That part'? Where exactly were they now? "We're not ready for this!"

"Oh, are we at Fishman Island already?" said Usopp, looking mildly delighted. And then Luffy decided to turn creepy, what with the shadow of his straw hat covering his eyes from view.

"No, before that's the ghost sea!" Danny raised a brow at the words. Maybe this was something up his alley…

…Then again, maybe not. "Yeah. Don't let your guard down" said Franky. Now Danny was really interested. "This ocean is definitely the famous… Florian Triangle."

Record scratch. _This was a Bermuda Triangle incarnate?_

"The outrageous sea where everything mysteriously disappears!" Ok, this was a Bermuda Triangle _rip-off_. And by Franky's tone, he was obviously enjoying the fact of being able to scare someone. *coughUsoppcough*

"Eh?! _G-g-ghosts_?!"

Luffy snickered. "Yeah, there's ghosts in this ocean!" Danny felt pity for the poor sniper. But then he smirked mentally – Luffy didn't know how right he was about ghosts in this stretch of ocean. And he was almost tempted to start telling ghost stories for the hell of it.

Usopp whirled around and pointed accusingly at random Straw-Hats. "You're lying! Everyone else knows what it is, why don't I?!"

Chopper, at some point, was clinging to Zoro's leg in pure terror. Luffy laughed and leapt off his perch on the railing. "Kokoro Baa-san told us! There's even living skeletons!" Danny sweatdropped heavily. Dear Lord, he did not want another Pariah Dark to deal with…!

Danny frowned lightly in thought. Now, something was feeling off. He turned his sights on the fog-laden waves, ignoring the sniper's sudden terrified scream, and looked more towards the left… A dark shape was coming closer…

A dark shape…

A dark ship…

A ship.

"Hey guys?" said Danny. The teasing ended abruptly as their passenger spoke up. "Was there anything about ghost ships?"

Danny kept his eyes on the advancing ship. "Why are you asking all of a sudden? Ya' scared?" Sanji jibed playfully. The ship was upon them now.

"…"

"…Seriously Danny-bro, what's wrong?"

"…What's that then?"

All of a sudden, a haunting sound was heard, almost as if someone was humming the lyrics to a song. The crew stiffened, while Danny kept his sights on the unknown ship. Indeed, the humming had to be coming from that ship.

"What's this voice?!"

The humming continued as the dark ship slowly eased near the Sunny. "There it is!" Usopp screamed. The new ship was practically behind them now, and it was massive!

"THE GHOST SHIP!" every Straw-Hat but Robin practically screamed. Danny had to give props to the black-haired woman for looking unfazed whatsoever, except for the slight widening of her eyes. As the ship slowly eased beside them, they were cast under its shadow. What didn't help was the tattered old sail billowing with an ominous pitch, the old, dark wood creaking from all the motion of the alleged Ghost Sea. While Nami and Usopp freaked out about the song, Danny coolly eased into a stance that made him look passive, but ready to fight if needed.

"Is there someone on this ship…?" Said Robin.

"If it's an enemy, I'll take him down" said Zoro, resting a hand on the hilt of one of his blades. Danny gave the green-haired man a look; this was the guy who looked spooked earlier about the ship, and he just now puts on a brave face?

"There's something there." Sanji took a drag of his cigarette.

And as the ship gradually eased to a stop in front of them, they could see _a skeleton watching them from deck_…with a cracked teacup in hand? Danny blinked. Well, the singing had stopped, sooo… What now?

"Going to bring…~ Binks his drink…~" the skeleton sang lightly, taking a sip of whatever was in his cup. Tea, possibly?

"Did you see that just now?! A skeleton was singing!" Luffy said excitedly.

"I-idiot! Skeletons don't sing!" said Usopp, knowing full well what Luffy was starting to think of. Danny could only make a wild guess. "It was a spirit! A spirit!"

Luffy went to Sanji. "But, you heard it, right?"

"Usopp… If I know my ghosts, most spirits would try to use some kind of subliminal message to lower a person's guard before striking. This skeleton, however, doesn't feel like a ghost."

The crew eyed Danny in surprise, what with him speaking out suddenly about ghost-related behaviours. When Nami was about to question Danny about his apparent knowledge, Luffy became incited.

"Hey, let's go! Let's go immediately!"

Danny could swear the young captain's eyes literally had stars in and around them from his uncontained excitement. "There was a living skeleton after all! Yosh!" he was about to make a mad dash for the other ship when Sanji grabbed a hold of the back of his vest's collar.

"Wait, wait! Don't rush, Luffy."

It was then Zoro suggested that they draw straws to determine who accompanies Luffy in terms of exploring the ghost ship. And immediately Danny came to a decision.

"I'm going."

Most of the crew stared at him like had three heads, albeit Franky's expression wasn't easy to discern, but Luffy looked pleased at someone readily joining him on the 'mystery ship', and slung his arm around Danny's shoulders. "Shishishishi! Well what are we waiting for?"

"For the other people who'll accompany us to be decided." Luffy visibly deflated. The rest of the crew was still eyeing Danny. "What? I'm curious to, and I just wanted to get past any decision making."

* * *

It soon came to be that the mini team was composed of Luffy, Danny, Sanji, and a quietly sobbing Nami, and they were moving towards the ghost ship on a rowboat. And what annoyed Danny mildly was that only three of the four were nearly onboard already.

"Nami, just get up here already! The rest of us are already nearly onboard, so why are you refusing when you were picked?"

Did I say mildly annoyed? Oops, I should've said moderately.

"I told you, I'm fine alone", said Luffy.

"No!" said Sanji. "If we let you do that you'd do something stupid and get us all cursed!"

Reluctantly, Nami began climbing the rope ladder. "I had terrible luck!"

"Nami-san, it's alright! I'll protect you!" Sanji crowed in a way that told Danny he was in lovestruck-mode. Again. Yup – now he truly knows why Zoro gets annoyed by Sanji's antics around the two girls. Hearing him is enough. And why the hell must he smoke?

"Even if you say so…"

"Nami, didn't you want a treasure ship?" asked Luffy, looking down at his crewmate.

"This isn't a treasure ship!" she screeched. "You saw it, didn't you?! That moving skeleton!"

"He's the guard!" Luffy said confidently. "Let's go find him!" And at that, the climbing resumed. And looking down the rope, quietly watching them climb, _was the skeleton!_ The quartet had varied looks of shock as the bleach white skull stared them down. Nami couldn't take it and shrieked, nearly causing Danny to lose his grip on the ladder from the pitch. Damn, her lungs rival Luffy's!

Finally, they were on deck, and were a little more then surprised to see the skeleton greet them happily.

"How do you do? Yohohoho!"

The skeleton itself was tall, really tall, and dressed in a black suit, torn mostly on the arms. There was a blue ruff on the front and the inside of the collar that was folded outwards was orange, along with the ruffs at the end of his coat sleeves. The same cracked teacup was in his left hand, and a purple cane hung from the same arm. And, quite surprising, the skeleton had a huge 'fro.

"I'm so sorry about earlier, I was unable to greet you properly! I'm simply so surprised! It's been many years since I've seen people. All I ever see is ghost ship after ghost ship… It's terrifying!"

_Ah, so this really IS a Bermuda Triangle rip-off. And he was seriously terrified of a few ghost ships even though he's a living skeleton?_

"Well, make yourselves at home and come inside. We'll be able to talk more relaxed." Nope. Certainly not. The Afro Skeleton wasn't malevolent whatsoever. Danny relaxed his form; it was refreshing to meet a face every once in a while who wouldn't attack on sight.

"Look, he's talking!" Luffy pointed out – literally and metaphorically – in excitement. "The skeleton's got an afro and he's talking!"

"Unbelievable!"

Then the skeleton apparently noticed Nami. "Oh!" Nami, in return, was suddenly more afraid. "My lady, you're a sight to behold! Beautiful!"

_This guy's a gentleman?_

"Oh, n-no, I'm not…"

"Oh, I only have eyes for beautiful ladies… Although as a skeleton, I have no eyes." The skeleton laughed, while Danny raised a brow. Really, skeleton jokes?

The skeleton set his cup and cane on/against a small table (how didn't he notice that?), straightened his attire, and asked, "Would you, Perhaps, show me your panties?" Nope, this skeleton was another Sanji; at least he was polite about it. Danny really didn't know if he should start laughing, fall over from what he said, or both, but he remained silent as Nami clocked the skeleton with a fierce kick, as to not incite her wrath upon _him_.

"Oh, how harsh!" said the skeleton as he slowly fell onto his side. "I'm afraid you caused my skin to fall right off! Although I was already a skeleton."

"Shut up!"

Luffy began laughing at the craziness, Danny himself finally turning away to hide his oncoming laughter. Well, that wasn't something you'd see everyday!

"How come this skeleton is a simpleton?" Sanji asked bemusedly. Danny was too busy trying to contain his laughter to really hear what was said next, but when he finally managed to get himself mostly under control, the skeleton was standing upright again as if he hadn't been knocked down at all, his cup and cane on his person once again.

Sanji pointed an accusing finger at the skeleton. "First, if you're a skeleton, how can you be alive and talking? Who are you? Why are you here? What happened to this ship?" –

_Jeez Sanji, give the skeleton a break!_

- "What kinds of things happen in this sea? Answer all those things now!"

"Wait!" Luffy abruptly silenced the cook's interrogation, calmly walked forward, arms crossed. "But more importantly, you!"

Danny grew slightly worried. What was Luffy planning exactly?

"Join our crew!"

"Alright then."

…Did he just hear that right? Luffy wanted the skeleton to join his crew, and the skeleton accepted? What?

Danny was in mild shock at the situation, Nami and Sanji were horrified by the sudden turn of events, and Luffy was grinning broadly at the acceptance.

_Huh. I may have just figured out why Luffy's crew consisted of a lot of characters. The others are not going to like this…_

* * *

After some initial 'trouble' before and after Luffy introducing the skele - no, _Brook_, as their new crewmate (Usopp in exorcism gear, Chopper getting spooked by Brook, Zoro just plain pissed off, Brook thinking there was an evil spirit around because of Usopp, and Luffy having found Brook to be a riot), all ten people were inside the galley. Inside Brook was marveling at the Sunny's splendor.

"Isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's 'cuz this super guy made it! You've really got an eye for quality."

_So you'll basically react differently to whoever says nice comments about the Sunny Go?_

"Oi, don't get attached to him, Franky", said Sanji, preparing a meal.

"But what I'm truly looking forward to is the food", said Brook. "I haven't had any good food for so many years…"

Danny could relate, what with the erratic cooking of his parents'.

Brook's head connected to the table. "I've lived so long with these hunger pains that I feared I was just skin and bones…" Then he sat up suddenly, all notes of solemnness gone. "Although I'm a skeleton and don't have any skin at all!" Brook and Luffy were the only ones who laughed. "Skull joke!"

"Skull joke!" Luffy parroted happily.

Danny shook his head in amusement. Honestly, he never thought he'd be having dinner with a skeleton of all things. Although considering the usual insanity back in Amity Park, he couldn't really complain. Although…

Danny turned his gaze onto Brook. The skeleton, to him, was similar to him in terms of being dead, yet…not dead at the same time. He suspected there was a Devil Fruit involved, but then, how would he know?

Fairly quickly Sanji had dinner laid out in front of them. Luffy struck a conversation with Brook, his mouth full with the octopus-based meal, and Danny briefly pondered the thought of his dad versus Luffy in an eating contest. Heh, his dad would probably think he'd have it in the bag, considering the captain's usual stature.

Brook, somehow, understood Luffy's offer of checking out the ship's aquarium, and were both getting psyched over the thought. Hmmm, two peas in a pod, they were.

"Shut up and eat!"

* * *

"Yomi Yomi no Mi? so you ate a Devil's Fruit…"

Danny listened intently to the conversation, about how Brook was a pirate like the Straw-Hats –

_("Eh? You're not a pirate Danny?"_

"_No, I'm just staying with these guys until I can get back home.")_

– how the Devil Fruit he ate gave him the chance to have a second life after death, and had been living alone for years.

_("…But you aren't a ghost?!"_

"_Yes, I dislike ghosts myself! If I see one, I cry out in fear!"_

_Oh dear, Danny thought with a sweatdrop. I just hope I don't somehow meet Brook as Phantom.)_

And then Brooke mentioned an accident he had, and promptly declined Luffy's offer to join the crew, explaining that he couldn't leave the fog until he got his shadow back. (Nearly all of the crew had been about to attack the musician when they learned before the explanation that he had no shadow or reflection, thinking he was a vampire, courtesy of Nami, Chopper and Usopp). Danny had nearly fallen out of his seat from the sudden discovery of the missing shadow and reflection.

_Th-this is like those spirit-ghosts I encountered! Is this why I'm here? To bring retribution where they can't?_

And _the_ creepy-ass thing was, that should Brook be in direct sunlight while withholding his 'curse', _he'd friggin' disintegrate! _And yet, Brook was unwilling to give the name of the person who caused the accident to Luffy, who then proclaimed he'd get his shadow back.

_Okay, but how are you going to do that if you don't know the name if your adversary?_

At some point, (Danny spaced out at some points during the conversation), he'd heard that Brook was his past crew's musician, to Luffy's delight. Brook complied to the captain's joy by pulling out a violin. "Let's sing a fun song together!"

Just then, Danny's ghost sense went off, just as Brook was about to strike the first chord.

Chopper shivered slightly, the 'feeling' from Danny rearing sharply for a second, but didn't even get a chance to wonder when Brook fell backwards suddenly, shivering in fear.

The other nine people turned to where Brook was looking, _to see a white, translucent shape peeking at them through the wall!_

"G-g-ghost!" Brook cried.

The shape decided to pull itself through the wall fully, causing a panic (for Luffy and Danny, it was excitement and wariness respectively). All of a sudden, the ship started shaking, like the ocean was having an earthquake. Nobody noticed the ghost (lol, one of the two, anyway) seemingly disappear.

"No… It can't be…" Brooke ran out of the galley to get a view of what he thought was going on, for fear of something. "What a thing to happen…! Those guys're watching this ship?!"

"Oi, Brook, what's going on?!" Danny called out to the musician as he, followed quickly by Luffy, ran out to join him.

"Please look! This ship is being blocked!"

A massive stone-brick wall was planted in front of the Sunny Go. "This is what caused that shaking!"

"Brook, seriously! Do you know anything about this?!" said Danny.

"This is the back of the gate…"

"Gate?" said Luffy.

He wasn't answered. Brook ran to the back of Sunny, practically demanding that someone take a look at the back of the ship, with Danny close behind. By then the rest of the Straw-Hats rushed out to find out what was going on.

"What is it?" said Nami. In front of them all was part of the same wall, converging with what appeared to be some kind of gate. Indeed, tension was palpable.

Brook gasped, and turned to Luffy. "Did you, perhaps, pick up a floating barrel…?"

"… Ah!"

Luffy promptly went through a series of reminiscing involving finding the barrel and opening it, leading up to…this…point…

"We did!"

"Of course… That was a trap!" It was then and there that Danny had begun developing a dislike for barrels. Well of course nobody would usually suspect a barrel – and this one just HAD to be the catalyst trigger for…something, but gut feeling told him it was something huge.

"This ship has been targeted since then."

"Targeted? What d'you mean?" asked Luffy. "We've been right here the whole time…"

Looming eerily was a fog-encrusted dense forest, a dark, gothic-looking stone castle in the centre (reminding Danny of Vlad's old castle), and what appeared to be some kind of wagonwheel-esque monument to one side, with various chains woven in and around. And if one squinted, one could see a black iron-gate and fence, possibly leading to a cemetery. This place, in Danny's mind, could _easily_ rival Pariah's Keep!

"Why is there an island there?" asked a slightly nervous Usopp.

"Brook?" said Danny. The musician was silent. "What is this place?"

"That is the wandering ghost island… Thriller Bark."

Varied reactions came from the other nine people. Danny himself swore that there were ghosts en mass all over, and had to move to the back of the crowd to prevent anyone seeing his ghost sense go off in thrice succession.

"Thriller Bark."

It was a moment of realization for everyone that they'd probably bitten off more then they could chew.

* * *

**"I'm thinking of putting Danny with Luffy when the Straw-Hats are forced to divide, in a future chapter, but I'm not positive yet if I should have Danny's shadow stolen by Moriah alongside Luffy. Then again..."**

***Pause***

******"Nah, what do you guys think?"**

**Suddenly a message is heard over the loudspeaker in the airport, and we later find Arid and her relatives seated in a plane. "I'll be off for quite a while, so my next update might come a tad later due to my '****vacation away from vacation'. Until next time guys!" ****Arid fished an iPod out from her shorts, put on her earbuds, and turned on some music, head bobbing lightly as the plane started moving. Elsewhere in the storage compartment of the plane, a certain bunny is seen making itself comfortable for the long flight ahead of it.****  
**


End file.
